St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-10-29


a woman near me, with hand and arm
twisted of rheumatism and her wrist
was fiery with inflammation, and it
looked like those cases of chronic
rheumatism which we have all seen and
sympathized with, cases beyond all
human healing. At the preachers reitera-
ton of the words: "Will you believe
Do you believe? Do you believe now ~
| heard this poor sick woman say, with
an emphasis which sounded through the
building: Il do believe And then
she laid her twisted arm and hand out
as straight as your arm and hand, or
mine. If | had seen one rise from the
dead, | would not have been much
more thrilled. Since then l believe
that God will do anything in answer to
our prayer and in answer to our faith,
and He can heal our bodies, and
if our soul is all twisted and misshapen
of revenge and hate and inf1amed with
| sinful proclivity, ie can straighten that
also and make it we'll and clean. Aye !!
, you will not postpone till shutdown for
| giveness of enemies if you can realize
that their behavior toward you may be
put into the catalogue of the "all things
that work together for good to those
that love Cod | have had multi
tudes of friends, but l have found
in my own experience that God
so arranged it that the greatest
opportunities of usefulness that have
been opened before me were opened by
enemies. And when, years ago, they con-
spired against me, that opened all Christ
endom to me as a field in which to
preach the Gospel So you may harness
| your antagonists to your best interests
and compel them to draw you on to bet
| ter work and higher character. Suppose,
instead of waiting until six minutes past
five o'clock this evening, when the sun
will set, you transact this glorious work
| of forgiveness before meridian.
Again. We ought not to let the sun
go down on our wrath, because we will
sleep better if we are at peace with every
body. Insomnia is getting to be one of
the most prevalent of disorders. How
few people retire at ten o'clock at night
and sleep clear through to six in the
morning! To relieve this disorder all
narcotics, and sedatives, and choral, and
bromide of potassium, and cocaine and
intoXicants are used, but nothing is more
important than quiet spirit if we would
win somnolence. How is man going to
sleep when he is in mind pursuing an
enemy? With what nervous twitch he will
start out of dream! That new plan for
cornering his foe will keep him wide
awake while the clock strikes eleven,
twelve, one, two, three, four. | give you
an unfailing prescription for wakeful-
ness: spend the evening hour rehearsing
your wrongs and the best way of aveng-
ing them. Hold a convention of friends
on this subject in your parlor or office at
eight and nine o'clock. Close the even
ing by writing bitter letter express
ing your sentiments. Take from the desk
or pigeonhole the papers in the
case to refresh your mind with your
evenings meanness. Then lie down
and wait for the coming of the day, and |
it will come before sleep comes, or your
sleep will be worried quiescence, and, |
if you take the precaution to lie flat on |
your back, frightful nightmare. Why |
not put bound to your animosity? |
Why let your foes come into the sancti-
ties of your dormitory? Why let those |
slanderers who have already torn |
your reputation to pieces, or injured |
your business, bend over your midnight !
pillow and drive from you one of the !
greatest blessings that God can offer
sweet, refreshing, all invigorating sleep? |
Why not fence out your enemies ~ the
golden bars of the sunset? Why not |
stand behind the barricade of evening
cloud and say to them: Thus far and |
no farther?" Many man and many a
woman is having the health of body as
well as the health of soul eaten away by
a malevolent spirit. | have in time of re-
ligious awakenings had persons, night
after night, come into the inquiry room
and get no peace of soul After while
| have bluntlv asked her: rs there not
some one against wlfom you have a
hatred that you are not willing to give
up?" After little confusion she has
slightly whispered, Eyes" Then | said
to her: You will never find peace with
God as long as you retain that virulence."
A boyin Sparta having stolen fox kept
him under his coat, and, though the fox
was gnawing his vitals, he submitted to
it rather than expose his misdeed Many
8 man with a smiling face has under his
jacket an animOsity that is gnawing
away the strength of his body and the in
tegrity of his soul. Better get rid of that
hidden fox as soon as possible. There
are hundreds of domestic circles where
hat which most is needed is the spirit of
forgiveness. Brothers apart, and sis
.ers apart, and parents and children
apart. Solomon says a brother Of
ended is harder to be won than a
strong city. Are there not enough
sacred memories of your childhood to
BRING you together? The rabbins re-
count how that Nebuchadnezzar' son
lad such spite against his father that
Ifter he was dead he had his father
burned to ashes and then put the ashes
nto four sacks and tied them to four
'agles' necks which flew away in oppo-
lite directions. And there are now do
nestle antipathies that seem forever to
lave scattered all parental memories to
he four winds of Heaven. How far
he eagles fly with that sacred ashes
The hour of shutdown makes to that
amily no practical suggestion. Thomas
carlyle in his biography of Frederick the
treat says the old King was told by the
onfessor he must be at peace with bis
nemies if he wanted to enter Heaven. !
Then he said to his wife, the Queen
Write to your brother after | am dead
hat forgive him." Roloff, the confessor,
aid: Her majesty had better write
lim Immediately" NO" said the King, I
after | am dead; that will be safer"
20 he let the sun of his earthly exist
nee 60 down upon his wrath
Again We ought not to allow the sun
ct before forpiyenooc takac p1ooo no r